“Y-you were betrayed?” I ask with hesitation.

Miss Jessica gives me a sad smile. “Yes, everyone deals with it at some point in life. Here’s how it happened.

“Like you, I had an idol to look up to; her name was Mackenzie Billings. She’s known for her intense investigative journalism and dogged determination. All the while, she had a charismatic personality that could make even the most tight-lipped person spill their beans.

“She uncovered multiple conspiracies and plots. One of them was the infamous Butterball Scandal that led to the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. Everyone in the office affectionately nicknamed her “Billings Woodward Bernstein.” Even her rival journalists had reluctant admiration for her.

I started an internship at the newspaper at nineteen years old in my first year of college. Bright-eyed and eager to become a great journalist. On my first day, I met Miss Billings at the office, and, as you can imagine, tickled pink. Her famous, disarming nature put me at ease, and we shared stories and chatted like old friends whenever we met. Miss Billings even gave me my very own miniature voice recorder.

“After five days in my internship, she recommended to her boss that I become her apprentice, which he approved of. My emotions at the time went over the moon, and I looked forward to every minute I spent with Miss Billings. She taught me everything I knew about journalism, crafting a charismatic personality. Listening to and putting up with interviewed people, piecing together evidence, investigation tactics, etc.

I devoured every morsel of knowledge fed to me. Miss Billings brought me to several interviews for high-profile cases such as the Butterball Scandal. She had me dress up as a different person and placed in an area where no one noticed my presence, but I could still hear her and the interviewee. I hid my recorder in a pocket and taped their conversations. Once over, we’d review the recordings, piece together stories, or check whether they were consistent and if they could add to the investigation.

“I had a perfect job until the CEO of the newspaper died. That’s when it started to fall apart.”